Shloka 64
Rāma–Jāmadagnya-janma-kāraṇa and Kṣatra-kṣaya
Paraśurāma’s origins and the depletion/restoration of kṣatriya lineages
दक्षिणामश्वमेधान्ते कश्यपायाददत् ततः । इस प्रकार शक्तिशाली परशुरामजीने इस पृथ्वीको इक्कीस बार क्षत्रियोंसे हीन करके अश्वमेध यज्ञ किया और उसकी समाप्ति होनेपर दक्षिणाके रूपमें यह सारी पृथ्वी उन्होंने कश्यपजीको दे दी ।। ६३ $ ।। स क्षत्रियाणां शेषार्थ करेणोद्दिश्य कश्यप:
dakṣiṇām aśvamedhānte kaśyapāyādadat tataḥ | sa kṣatriyāṇāṁ śeṣārthaṁ kareṇoddiśya kaśyapaḥ ||
अश्वमेधाच्या समाप्तीला त्याने कश्यपाला दक्षिणा दिली. अशा रीतीने पराक्रमी परशुरामाने पृथ्वीला एकवीस वेळा क्षत्रियविहीन करून अश्वमेध यज्ञ केला; आणि यज्ञ पूर्ण झाल्यावर ही सारी पृथ्वी दक्षिणारूपाने कश्यपाला अर्पण केली. त्यानंतर उरलेल्या क्षत्रियांबाबत जे कर्तव्य होते त्याचा विचार करून कश्यप तदनुसार प्रवृत्त झाला.
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the dharmic principle that power and conquest must be restrained and ultimately subordinated to higher order: after violent retribution, Paraśurāma performs a Vedic rite and relinquishes sovereignty by giving the earth as dakṣiṇā to a sage, emphasizing expiation, detachment, and the ethical necessity of placing rule under brahminical/ṛṣi-guided dharma.
Vāsudeva recounts that Paraśurāma, after repeatedly eliminating kṣatriya rulers, performs an Aśvamedha and, at its completion, gives the entire earth to the sage Kaśyapa as the sacrificial fee; Kaśyapa then turns his attention to how the remaining kṣatriyas are to be dealt with/regulated in what follows.